Premier League abandons Boxing Day tradition as festive fixture schedule released

In partnership with

The Independent

·31 October 2025

Premier League abandons Boxing Day tradition as festive fixture schedule released

The Premier League has announced its fixture schedule for the festive period, with just one game scheduled for the traditional Boxing Day slot due to complications with a congested calendar.

Manchester United will host Newcastle United at 8pm on Friday 26 December, with a further nine fixtures to be played across Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 December. However, this includes five matches scheduled at 3pm on Saturday 27 December, which will not be televised in the UK due to the 3pm TV blackout.

OneFootball Videos

There were eight Premier League games played on Boxing Day last season, with a full round of 10 top-flight fixtures played on Boxing Day the last time it fell on a Friday in 2014. The Premier League has assured fans that there will be more fixtures on Boxing Day next year, as it falls on a Saturday in 2026.

open image in gallery

Manchester United v Newcastle will be the only Premier League match to be played on Boxing Day this year (Getty Images)

There will then be six matches on Tuesday 30 December, and a further four on Thursday 1 January - all to be shown on either Sky Sports or TNT Sports - with no Premier League matches scheduled on New Year’s Eve.

The Premier League must fulfil 33 weekends of fixtures as part of its arrangements with broadcasting partners and following an agreement with the FA over the exclusivity of certain FA Cup weekends.

The Premier League scheduled this season’s midweek rounds for the start of December, January and March, another in mid-February and the fifth from Tuesday December 30.

With FA Cup replays scrapped, the FA Cup has been granted exclusive weekends for the fourth, fifth and quarter-finals rounds, while the expanded Champions League league phase now concludes across two midweeks in late January.

A statement from the Premier League said: “The Premier League would like to acknowledge the circumstances that have led to a reduced number of matches on Boxing Day this season – impacting an important tradition in English football.

open image in gallery

The Premier League acknowledged the impact on an ‘important’ English football tradition (Getty Images)

“There are now several challenges to Premier League fixture scheduling rooted in the expansion of European club competitions – which led to a revision of our domestic calendar ahead of last season, including changes to the FA Cup. This ultimately left the Premier League as a 33-weekend competition – fewer than previous seasons, despite being a 380-match competition since 1995.

“With fewer weekends to work with, the league is bound by how the calendar falls. The league can give an assurance that next season there will be more Premier League matches on Boxing Day – as the date falls on a Saturday.”

There will be a full programme of EFL and non-league fixtures on Boxing Day, however, with a further round of games in the lower divisions expected on Monday 29 December.

The Premier League added: “As with previous years, and in keeping with our commitment to clubs, special arrangements have been made to allow more time between games played across the festive period. This will allow greater time for players to recover with the rest periods between rounds 18, 19 and 20 being increased to ensure that no club plays within 60 hours of another match.”

The Football Supporters’ Association criticised the decision to schedule Newcastle’s game at Manchester United at 8pm on Boxing Day as “thoughtless”, with away fans facing a long journey home.

“The Premier League's TV selections for Xmas and NY have finally been announced a fortnight after they were supposed to be,” the FSA said on X. “Newcastle’s game at Old Trafford - the longest trip of that game week - has been selected for a ridiculous 8pm kick-off on Boxing Day. Thoughtless.”

Friday 26 December

Manchester United v Newcastle United - 8pm

Saturday 27 December

Nottingham Forest v Manchester City - 12:30pm

Arsenal v Brighton - 3pm

Brentford v Bournemouth - 3pm

Burnley v Everton - 3pm

Liverpool v Wolves - 3pm

West Ham v Fulham - 3pm

Chelsea v Aston Villa - 5:30pm

Sunday 28 December

Sunderland v Leeds - 2pm